Western fears that air strikes don’t target IS ‘unfounded’: Russia

The Russian minister of defense announced Wednesday that his country’s military jets have launched their first targeted airstrikes against the Islamic State.

Russian Federation will not succeed in imposing a military solution on Syria and more so than the US did in Iraq or the Soviets did in Afghanistan in the 1980s, he added.

While Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its warplanes were conducting “surgical strikes” on ISIS’ military equipment, communication hubs and fuel depots, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said the bombardments didn’t appear to be targeting areas held by ISIS forces.

The head of Western-backed Syrian political opposition said Russian airstrikes in Homs on killed 36 civilians and targeted areas where ISIS and al Qaedalinked fighters were not present.

The Pentagon called Russia’s airstrikes “contradictory” to their position of fighting extremism in Syria despite Moscow’s insistence that the air raids were against the Islamic State (IS) targets, Xinhua reported.

“We are clear that if Russian Federation wants to join with the coalition in air strikes against [ISIS] then we would welcome that”, Philip Hammond, the United Kingdom foreign secretary, told reporters.

Kerry told the United Nations Security Council that the USA would not object to Russians hitting Islamic State or al-Qaida targets, but airstrikes just to strengthen the hand of Syrian President Bashar Assad would be worrisome.

“The targets, notably a command centre of the terrorists, were completely destroyed”, the ministry said in a statement.

Moscow and Washington continue to disagree on the future role of Assad in Syria with Russian Federation being in support of his inclusion in the political settlement, while the United States is in favour of ousting him.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said he was striking against Islamic State and helping Assad.

Kerry said that the two sides have a few “very specific” measures in mind that could be effective in moving toward that goal, although he warned that Washington and Moscow have differences on key points.

Pentagon officials have described Russia’s buildup of military hardware in the Latakia region in northwestern Syria and said Russian Federation is making a forward operating base there. He said the Russian Air Force would support Assad’s army without plunging wholesale into the conflict.

Reports from Syria indicate the Russian strikes were directed at anti-regime forces and caused civilian casualties.